Detachable light for vehicle-curtains



I. WINANS. DETACHABLE LIGHT FOR VEHICLE CURTAINS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5. I918.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5,19I8- Patented Apr. 20

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL M. WINANS, OF BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE BREWER- TITCI-IENER CORPORATION, OF BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Ap1'.20, 1920.

Application filed July 5, 1918. Serial No. 243,414.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, DANIEL-M. 71mins, a citizen of the United States, residing at Binghamton, in the county of Broome and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Detachable Lights for Vehicle-Curtains, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is animprovement on the detachable light set forth in my application, Serial No. 5204945, filed Dec. 1, 1917.

One object is to decrease the number of elements which have to be assembled when applying the light to a vehicle curtain, there by saving time and labor in attaching the light to the curtain.

This object is accomplished by providing a back-ring and pane or light which are self-contained with each other, that is, the pane is carried by the back-ring as a unitary structure which can be applied, as such, to the inner face of the curtain, ready for the connection thereto of the outer frame which appears on the outer face of the curtain.

The manner of attaching the pane or light to the back-ring is susceptible of variation, one embodiment only being set forth hereinafter and shown in the accompanying drawings.

Another object is to securely. hold, or grip, the curtain to provide a non-leaking or nonspreading joint between the back-ring, outer frame, and curtain.

To that end, the back-ringand outer frame are so formed that they will telescope and pinch the curtain between themselves in such manner that flapping of the curtain, jars and jolts to which it is subjected due to travel of the vehicle over rough roads, and other strains will not result in slippages of the parts, nor open spaces between the ring and frame and the curtain but, on the other hand, the joint will be substantially water-tight.

A further object is to provide improved means for engaging the screws that hold the outer frame and back-ring together, whereby any tendency of the frame and ring to become distorted by reason of excessive tension due to the tightness of the screws,

will be minimized, and probably entirely prevented, thereby minimizing liability of occurrence of spaces between the frame and ring and curtain.

This object iscarried out by the provision of flanges on the outer frame which have projections engaging the nuts with which the screws engage. In that connection, I provide flat nuts whose edges lie under the flanges and are held by the projections aforesaid. Such projections may be provided in the form of punched-up parts or raised nibs which do not break the continuity of the flanges andhence no open spaces are possible between the outer frame and the curtain. Furthermore, such manner of securing the nuts may be had by a machine operation, thus greatly decreasing the time and work necessary to secure the nuts to the outer frame.

My present improvements in the backring and outer frame, enable these parts to be made as stampings which lessens the expense of production and insures uniformity of dimensions and permits interchangeability.

The unitary form of the back-ring and the pane or li ht not only facilitates application to the curtain, but insures against slippage of the pane and any rattling of the same.

The invention being susceptible of modification, the presentdisclosures are not to be consideredas restrictive of the scope of the invention. s

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1, is a view looking toward the outer frame and outer face of the pane, as applied to a curtain, a portion of which is shown, certain parts being broken awavto disclose the part of the curtain which is held by the frame and ring, and to show the backring;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the unitary backring and pane or light, showing how the latter is held by the former;

Fig. 3 is a similar view looking toward the inner face of the outer ring, showing the nuts and the manner of securing them;

Fig. 4: is a detail view of one of the paneholding devices carried by the back-ring, before it has been bent down to secure the pane;

Fig. 5 is a detail cross-section through the pane, curtain and pane-holding means;

Fig. 6 is a similar view, taken at another point, showing the manner in which the pane is held by the back-ring so as to be a unitary structure therewith;

Fig. 7 is a detail face view showing one of the nuts and the means for holding the same;

Fig. 8 is a view like Fig. 5, showing a nut such as disclosed in my application, Ser. No. 204%5;

Fig. 9 is a face view of the nut of Fig. 8, and the holding means therefor.

A portion of the curtain of an automobile or other vehicle is shown at 1, and the pane or light at 2. I have illustrated a beveled plate-glass pane, but the invention is intended for use in connection with celluloid panes or any transparent pane.

The pane is unitary or self contained with a back-ring 3 and there is an outer frame 4. The present pane 2 being oval, the ring 3 and frame 1 are of that shape. I wish it understood, however, that the pane 2 may be circular, rectangular, or of any other shape, and that the ring 3 and frame 4 will vary in shape according to the shape of the pane. I do not limit myself to a ring, frame and pane of any particular shape and intend to embrace all shapes to which the invention is adaptable.

The ring 3 and frame t are of metal, preferably stampings, to insure lightness, strength, cheapness of manufacture, and uniformity. The ring 3 and frame 4: are of arched form in cross-sectional shape.

The pane 2 may be secured to the backring 3 in different ways, one of which is shown. Clips, in the form of stampings 5 (Fig. 4:) are connected to the inner face of the ring 3 and, when the pane 2 has been laid on the inner flange 6 of the ring, these clips have their ears 7 bent down to engage the edge of the pane as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. The pane is then, to all intents and purposes, a unitary structure with the back-ring 3 and the two comprise but one element when it comes to applying them to the curtain or removing them therefrom, thereby saving much time and labor over a structure where the pane and ring are separate.

The clips may be secured to the back-ring in different ways, such as by spot-welding, or soldering, the latter manner being illustrated, the solder being shown at 8, Fig. 6, as occupying the space or opening in the clip after the ear 7 has been struck up. The clips are in the form shown in Fig. at when supplied to the assembler for connection to the ring 3.

The outer edge of the hack-ring 3 is provided with a flange 9 which admits telescoping with the outer frame at as Wlll appear from F igs. 5 and 6. The curtain 1 1s, con

sequently, pinched between the ring and frame, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and a water-tight joint thus provided which is not impaired by the flapping, jarring, and straining to which a vehicle curtain is subjected. Preferably, the flange 9 flares outwardly, but I do not limit myself to any particular angle.

In Fig. 9, I have shown how the outer frame 1- may be provided with nuts 10 similar to those disclosed in my application, Ser. No. 20-1945, and held by ears 11 bent down from the edges of the frame and entering notches 12 in the nuts 10, screws 13 being provided which pass through holes 14 in the back-ring 3 and engage the screwthreaded holes 15 in the nuts, for the purpose of securing the back-ring and frame together. Those parts of my present invention relating to the unitary arrangement of the back-ring and the pane, and the telescoping of the outer frame and back-ring being complete improvements, I have illustrated the nuts 10 of my earlier application to show that said improved features are not dependent on the improved nut and means on the outer frame 41- for its 'securement.

The improved nut 16 shown in Figs. 3, 5, and 7 is preferred as it is more simple, cheaper, and more readily assembled with the improved holding means comprising the flanges 17 and 18 which I have provided on the outer frame, than the arrangement of nut and holding ears shown in Figs. 8 and 9. It is to be understood, however, that the flanges 17 and 18 could be employed to hold a nut such as the nut 10 of Figs. 8 and 9.

In Figs. 3, 5, 6 and 7 the outer frame 4. has continuous flanges 17 and 18 which not only hold the nuts 16, but afford a relative wide and firm bearing for the curtain 1 and materially assist in pinching or clamping it and rendering the joint between the ring and frame and curtain more secure than is possible with a narrow edge such as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The nuts 16 are fiat and have their edges lying under the flanges 17 and 18. Nibs, depressions, or projections 19 are formed in the inner edges of the flanges 17 and 18 on opposite sides of the nuts, as shown in Fig. 7, thus securely holding the nuts without resort to solder or other securing means. The nuts could be provided with depressions to receive the projections 19, instead of locating the latter where they will engage the edges of the nuts.

The screws 13 passing through holes 1 1 in the back-ring, engage screw-threaded holes 15 in the nuts 16, as in Figs. 8 and 9, previously described. The flat flanges 17 and 18, and the adaptability of the back-ring and outer frame to telescope, insure against separation of either the ring or the frame from the curtain no matter how tightly the screws may be arranged, as the curtain is engaged by a relatively wide surface on both sides and is securely pinched between the ring and frame.

What I claim is:

A detachable light for vehicle curtains, comprising a ring having inner and outer flanges arranged angularly to the plane of the ring and spaced apart,'and a pane whose marginal portion bears on the inner flange aforesaid and is spaced from the outer flange, means being provided on the ring for securing the pane against said inner flange and holding it unitary with said ring, said pane and ring being permanently connected together and attachable as a unitary structure to the curtain, or removable as a unit therefrom, a frame adapted to be positioned on the opposite side of the curtain from the ring and pane and to telescope into the space between the margin of the pane and the outer flange of the ring so as to pinch the curtain between them, and screw fastenings for detachably securing the ring and frame together with the curtain clamped therebetween.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

DANIEL M. WVINANS. 

